Historic Preston Pubs: Part 12

PART 12 LONDON ROAD

In the latest instalment of our look back at the closed pubs of Preston, we focus on the area in the vicinity of London Road, the A6 heading south from the city centre. At one time, the journey from the bottom of Church Street down to the River Ribble would have produced a decent pub crawl, but sadly today not one of the pubs still exist.

Our first port of call on this issue’s nostalgia trip is the CHEETHAM ARMS, which used to stand on the west side of London Road between Queen Street and New Hall Lane. Opened in 1837, this was a Matthew Brown pub which had not sold real ale for a number of years when it closed in 1999. It was demolished the following year with the site remaining empty until the recent redevelopment of the commercial premises in that area. The Range store now sits on the site.

Further down London Road, on the opposite side of the road, on the corner of Primrose Hill stands Manjaros, a restaurant offering African and Caribbean cuisine. In happier times this was the WILLIAM IV pub, which had been owned by the Cornbrook Brewery of Manchester (later part of Bass). In our Preston Guild beer guide of 1992, the pub was described as a spacious pub with a plush lounge and separate games area around a central bar and serving Bass Special Bitter and Boddingtons Bitter. By the time the 2004 guide came out, real ale had been discontinued, with the pub closing in 2009.

A short walk south down London Road and on the next street corner (Salmon Street) we come to the next pub – one which indeed had a somewhat chequered history. There has been a GREYHOUND INN on this site since 1836. The original three storey structure was destroyed by fire (date uncertain) and rebuilt to

a slightly less grand scale. The pub eventually found its way into the hands of Boddingtons Brewery. In 1960, while building work was being carried out at the property, the front of the premises collapsed killing four people inside – including the landlord’s wife. The building was subsequently demolished and again rebuilt, with landlord Eric Ratcliffe returning to continue to serve his locals for nearly 30 years. The pub had a reputation for good beer at this time, appearing in 17 consecutive Good Beer guides from 1974-1990. With changes to the area, the pub eventually closed in 2012 and is now operating as a Turkish restaurant.

Our next port of call is another Boddingtons house, the SELBORNE, which is a short walk down London Road and a right turn

onto James Street. This pub featured in the 1974 Good Beer Guide and was described as a basic working class street corner pub. A later branch-issued guide described it in a bit more detail – and mentions a stone-clad exterior, fine old windows and multiple rooms; a pub that could be very busy at times and where pub games were important. The pub closed in 2003 and is now occupied as a religious centre.

Our final pub on this route is back on London Road and a good walk further south to the banks of the River Ribble. Originally known as the Black Horse, it was renamed the SHAWE’S ARMS in 1843 and continued under that name until it closed towards the end of 2014. At the start of the 20th century the pub was still brewing its own beer and offering accommodation for cyclists – many years before the invention of the Guild Wheel as a cycling route! The pub had a strange layout as it is built on land which slopes away to the rear. The main bar area, complete with attractive stained glass bar canopy and bar back are at ground floor level on entry, with a flight of steps leading down (rather steeply) to a games room on the lower floor. With a large open area for use as a beer garden, this should have secured viability but sadly this last London Road pub closed towards the end of 2014. There have been subsequent rumours of the building being turned into a restaurant, but despite some building work having taken place, it was announced in the local press in January of this year that the pub was once again for sale. All activity has ceased and in June there was a fire at the premises, apparently started by youths who had used the scaffolding to gain access. What the future holds for this property is anyone’s guess. ADRIAN SMITH All the excellent photographs used to illustrate this series of articles come from the Jim Holderness collection, and we gratefully acknowledge this and being able to use them. Part 13 will be the final part and we will be looking at some of the outlying pubs that haven’t been covered in the previous articles.